Traveling: Part 1

I've been on the road for about a month and a half now, and I'm starting to see a pattern.  There are two different travel modes: lone trips of three to five days visiting remote places and driving long distances followed by time spent with friends and relatives in a city.  Both travel modes are great experiences, but I find the transitions between them to be a little difficult.  Solo mode involves days of driving, staring at the scenery, camping out, keeping my own company, and generally feels like this:

Arriving in the city and staying with friends takes a little bit of time for adjusting, for adapting back to plural life.  The first day feels a little like this:

It's hard to remember to talk to other people, not just be quiet and observe.  I find myself missing the solitude and the feeling of movement and accomplishment that comes with driving.  After a few hours, that passes and I'm ready to really enjoy being with friends.  On the other hand, transitioning back the other way is a little harder.  After a week or two of friends and fun, the first day of driving can seem quite lonely.  The scenery is beautiful, my snack bag is full, and my favorite songs play through the stereo, but there is no one to share the experience.  After a little while (usually after the first night in the tent) the scenery and the quiet win over and a sort of shift occurs.  It's almost like my mind splits so I can play both roles - me eating cold baked beans from a can for breakfast while watching the sun rise and another me laughing at myself for the lack of planning that led me to the baked beans for breakfast.  It's funny and I share the experience with me.  At that point, I'm ready to start taking pictures like this:

That was me laughing at myself as the snow started to fall...